Where next for Russian teacher education?

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in the country. Over the more than 200 year history of professional train-
ing of teachers in Russia, there have been repeated transformations of the
teacher education system caused by political and socio-economic factors.
Today, we are once again on the verge of such dramatic changes associated
with global and national challenges facing humanity. In conditions when
today’s young people will determine the strategy for the development of
education in 10–20 years, it is necessary to analyze history, current trends,
forecasts, and hypotheses that could scientifically explain modern processes
with their projection into the future. Such studies could inform such dis-
cussions, in trying to model possible ways of developing teacher education
in the country.
With regard to Russia, this is actualised by the search for answers to the
following issues:

• The impact of political initiatives on education, in particular the future

prospects for liberalising education
• The influence of economic factors on education, in particular, the
maintenance of state support in this area or the introduction of market
mechanisms.
• The need to decentralise teacher education following the example of a
number of countries around the world with the transition of most func-
tions to the regional level, or the preservation of federal regulation and
control over teacher training.

It can be assumed that the organizational design of the teacher education

system by 2025 will clearly distinguish between several types of higher edu-
cation institutions offering teacher training programs. Differences between
specialised pedagogical universities and higher educational institutions of
other types may lead to the emergence of a binary system and even the
re-emergence of the concept of ‘provider in the field of teacher education’,
completely unthinkable for modern Russia.
During 2020, the issue of the duration of primary teacher training for work
at school was being actively discussed. After the transition to a multi-level
vocational training system in accordance with the Bologna Agreement, a
four-year bachelor’s degree was considered sufficient for teaching at school.
In the opinion of school principals, in comparison with the Soviet system of
training teachers for a five-year specialisation, this period is insufficient to
ensure innovation, complexity, variability, dynamism, practice-oriented pro-
fessional training of pedagogical personnel, and raise it to a qualitatively new
level. On 5 November 2020, at a meeting of the Russian Language Council,
Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned the advisability of a two-stage
higher education system for Russian language teachers. The head of state
admitted that he does not yet have a final opinion on this issue, noting that
bachelor’s and master’s degrees are a good way to train individual special-
ists, for example, in cybernetics. In turn, the Minister of Education Olga
Vasilyeva also stated that teachers in Russia need to be trained according
184  Ilshat Gafurov and Roza Valeeva
to five-year specialty programs, since the bachelor’s degree is not enough.
However, it should be borne in mind that a return to specialisation may have
an effect if the added year is spent on practice at school. Adding a year of
study to introduce additional subjects into the curriculum will not bring the
desired effect.
According to Yefim Rachevsky, director of the Tsaritsyno Moscow educa-
tion center No. 548, it is ideal if after the bachelor’s degree the graduate has
worked at school for two years, and then s/he chooses the master’s degree at
a conscious level, because s/he feels a lack of competencies. This experience
already exists in the Russian education system. For example, with a specialty
at the Moscow City Pedagogical University (MGPU), senior students had
an internship at school for a whole year, only after that they went out to
defend their diploma. The rector of MGPU Igor Remorenko believes that
the existing system is more efficient and flexible, but it should be prepared
according to a three-level model. According to him, the bachelor’s degree
provides general training and allows the student to navigate whether s/he
is really interested in working at school and is fascinated by his pedagogical
education, or, perhaps, s/he is interested in a more general system of work-
ing with people, for example, in consulting, client-oriented services, and so
on, where teaching skills are also required. The master’s degree allows more
deeply mastering any pedagogical skills, if a person has already worked, and
s/he understood what is really interesting for her/him. In addition, this
model allows those whose basic education is not pedagogical, to build up
the already required pedagogical competencies in the master’s program. The
specialty, on the other hand, rigidly directs students to work at school (Is it
necessary to return…, 2019).
The uniqueness of teacher education is in the fact that the process of train-
ing such specialists leads to a serious restructuring of the educational pro-
cess, all university divisions, and the university infrastructure. First of all,
this leads to the expansion of partnerships, business relations of the univer-
sity, the active use of information technologies, and most importantly – to
the strengthening of the educational process itself with scientific research.
In these conditions, the focus of pedagogical education on the continuous
development of the abilities and needs of the individual, in providing each
person with the opportunity to implement their own educational program,
becomes especially relevant.
Training and lifelong learning are essential elements of the education sys-
tem. The creation of a continuous, flexible, intensive, multi-level education
system is becoming a priority of our time. In modern conditions, great impor-
tance is attached to the development of the system of continuous teacher
education. In the Russian Federation, the process of modernisation of life-
long teacher education is carried out within the framework of the national
initiative ‘Our New School’3 and the introduction of new Federal state
educational standards for general education. Teachers and students, future
teachers, working in various educational institutions, become not only the
performers of the main tasks of modernisation, but also its active developers,
 Where next for Russian teacher education?  185
since in the conditions of uncertainty characterising the search for a new
quality of education, they design, ‘grow’ new knowledge about education,
and build new educational policy. As a result of this integration of science
and educational activities, teacher education itself becomes a ‘learner’, effec-
tively contributing to the creation of ‘learning communities’ in the modern
world as prototypes of future ‘learning nations’. The development of the
system of lifelong education necessitates the creation of conditions for the
formation of flexible educational trajectories and will ensure the reaction of
the education system to the dynamically changing needs of the individual,
society, and the economy.
A modern school is in need not so much of a subject teacher as of a uni-
versal teacher who, at the level of basic education, is able to present children
with a comprehensive picture of the world, to give integrated knowledge,
while focusing on the student as a unique, individual person who needs not
so much to be taught according to the model, the standard, or stereotypes,
but to achieve personal intellectual development. Therefore, the system of
lifelong teacher education should be multilevel, aimed at ensuring dyna-
mism, flexibility of training, its fundamental nature, and universality. In this
case, the training of personnel in the system of lifelong teacher education
will become targeted, focused on the specific needs of educational organisa-
tions of all types, subjects of the educational services market, while maintain-
ing the freedom of choice by the individual of their educational trajectory,
strengthening the practical orientation of education.
The development of teacher education is inevitably connected with the
prospects for the development of education in general. In May 2018, Rus-
sian President Vladimir Putin set a task to bring Russia to the top ten coun-
tries in terms of education quality by 2024. Such a bar is set in the decree
he signed ‘On national goals and strategic objectives for the development of
the Russian Federation for the period until 2024’.4 The text of the decree
also lists ten main tasks in the field of education, which must be resolved by
2024. In particular, we are talking about the introduction of new methods of
teaching and upbringing at the levels of basic general and secondary general
education, educational technologies that ensure mastering of basic skills and
abilities by students, increasing their motivation for learning and involve-
ment in the educational process, as well as updating the content and improv-
ing teaching methods in the subject area ‘Technology’. An effective system
for identifying, supporting, and developing the abilities and talents of chil-
dren and young people should be formed, based on the principles of justice,
universality and aimed at self-determination and professional orientation of
all students. It is also necessary to create conditions for the early develop-
ment of children under the age of three, and to implement a programme of
psychological, pedagogical, methodological, and advisory assistance to par-
ents of children receiving preschool education in the family.
In addition, the decree presupposes the creation of a modern and safe
digital educational environment that ensures high quality and accessibil-
ity of education of all types and levels. At least 50% of teachers of general
186  Ilshat Gafurov and Roza Valeeva
education organisations should be involved in the national system of profes-
sional development of teachers. Professional education should be modern-
ised, including through the introduction of adaptive, practice-oriented, and
flexible educational programs. In this regard, the problem arises of creating
sustainable organisational, regulatory, and financial instruments that ensure
the functioning of the ecosystem of the reproduction of teaching staff.
An important factor to consider when determining the future of teacher
education is the digital revolution. The report of the Centre for Strategic
Research and the Higher School of Economics ‘Twelve Solutions for New
Education’ compares the digital revolution of the 21st century with the
advent of printing and the mass school (Twelve solutions…, 2018). Digital
technologies make it possible to overcome traditional familiar limitations –
the presence in the classroom of children with different speed of mastering
the program, the impossibility, or limited choice of a teacher at school or a
teacher at a university. Thus, digital technologies make it possible to ensure
the individualisation of the educational trajectory for each student, methods
(forms) and the pace of mastering educational material. For a qualitative
restructuring of the school in the digital age, it is necessary to achieve a gen-
uine cognitive interest of schoolchildren through the widespread use of game
and design technologies, both digital and traditional. The explosive growth
of available information creates a cognitive challenge that will require con-
stant search and selection of interesting content and high processing speeds.
Cognitive transformation puts educational organisations in the forefront
of the need to find a reliable core of educational content. In this context, the
education system must learn to use new technological tools and practically
unlimited information resources. The practice of online courses and blended
learning creates an almost limitless field of educational opportunities. All this
forms the preconditions for the growth of the quality of education for liter-
ally every person, regardless of where exactly s/he lives and studies, as well
as what her/his interests and opportunities are.
These changes will require qualitatively new qualifications from teachers
and school principals. But they will create unprecedented incentives and
opportunities for young teachers or specialists from other fields who will
choose teaching professions. The field of education is likely to become one
of the most prestigious and attractive areas of work and career.
The report of the Centre for Strategic Research and the Higher School
of Economics emphasises that the requirements for the professional role of
teachers and educators are changing. The functions of the organiser of edu-
cational, project, and research activities and educational practices, consult-
ant, researcher, project manager, ‘navigator’ in the educational, including
digital, environment come to the fore. Meanwhile, despite the significant
strengthening of the personnel potential of the education system, a signif-
icant number of teachers and school principals do not show initiative and
do not renew their competencies. This is due to the formality and under-
funding of advanced training programs, with a weak practical orientation in
the training of young teachers. The effectiveness of any project in the field
 Where next for Russian teacher education?  187
of education depends on the motivation and competencies of those who
teach or organise educational activities (including the independent activities
of schoolchildren and students). Therefore, in each aspect of the education
system development, not only massive retraining of personnel is needed to
master specific new competencies, but also special support for networking,
leadership projects, innovations, and initiatives of teachers, teachers, educa-
tional organisations.
This will require:

• retraining of the management teams of all educational organisations;

development and implementation of certification procedures for teach-
ers mastering digital technologies and resources, methods of overcom-
ing educational failure, methods of developing interest and motivation,
as well as methods of forming universal competencies;
• development and implementation of high-tech teacher education pro-
grams with an enhanced practical component;
• creation of a system of postgraduate methodological support for young
teachers and an internship program for young teachers in the best edu-
cational institutions and on the basis of leading universities;
• grant support for the professional development of teachers and manag-
ers in each region aimed at introducing innovations, improving the qual-
ity of education, and promoting within the framework of the national
teacher growth system.

When determining the strategy for the further development of teaching

staff, it is necessary to keep in mind the existing gap between the rapidly
changing requirements for the education system and the insufficient speed
of changes in the system of training and retraining of teaching staff, which
should ensure compliance with these requirements.
To achieve the goal of fundamentally improving the quality of teaching
staff, it is necessary to take into account the following key problems:

1. Insufficient amount of modern interdisciplinary research on childhood

problems and issues of teaching and upbringing of children and ado-
lescents, including the analysis of data on the system of teacher edu-
cation. This leads to a gap between the content and technologies of
teacher training, modern practice of pedagogical activity, and its antic-
ipatory tasks.
2. Insufficient level of Russian scientists’ involvement in international
comparative research, allowing for the correlation of the current state
of pedagogical science and education in Russia with the leading world
trends. This creates problems in the formation of a long-term strategy
for the development of teacher education in the context of globalisation
of the world, does not allow for a full understanding of the specifics and
role of the Russian experience in teacher training in the global context,
does not provide an opportunity to take into account both best practices
and negative trends in foreign countries.
188  Ilshat Gafurov and Roza Valeeva
3. Not all regions have a strategy for staffing the field of teacher educa-
tion and long-term planning of teacher training. The consequence is an
imbalance in the age structure of teaching staff (a high proportion of
teachers of retirement age (19%), a shortage of younger teachers with
work experience (30–40 years old), the lack of mechanisms for ‘leaving
the profession’ and retention in the profession, a significant proportion
of teachers with secondary vocational education (in preschool organisa-
tions – 46%, in schools – 15%).
4. At the regional level, there is a lack of authority to effectively implement
the tasks facing of teacher training institutions, with responsibility for
the universities being with the federal Ministry of Education, while the
regional ministries are responsible for the secondary vocational colleges.
The annual replacement of the teaching staff reaching retirement age
should be about 52 thousand people, while in 2017 the graduation of
bachelors in pedagogical areas amounted to 69 thousand people, in 2018
– 72.8 thousand people, in 2019 – 73.2 thousand people, and teachers
with secondary vocational education – 37 thousand people annually. This
gives rise to a low share of employment, an oversupply of the training
system and ineffective use of funds are recorded.
5. Departmental dissociation of the Russian Ministry of Higher Education
and Science and the Russian Ministry of Education, on the one hand,
makes it possible to create the unified system of teacher education includ-
ing the general, secondary, and higher education institutions under
the responsibility of one Ministry. On the other hand, the Universities
left under the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education and
Science are left behind this process. This situation does not allow build-
ing a single vertical axis of research and training.
6. The continuing substantive and organisational gap between the systems
of secondary vocational and higher pedagogical education (Nikolaeva,
Golikov, & Barakhsanova, 2014; Khromenkov, 2015; Fominykh, 2015;
Bermous, 2015).

In order to address these problems, the following tasks become paramount:

1. Creation of world-class centers for teacher education (solving research

problems, developing new advanced strategies and technologies for
teacher education, adapting the best world practices), based on the
interaction of leading universities that train pedagogical personnel, insti-
tutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of
Education. There should be about 5–7 of them. It is advisable to com-
bine the centers into a consortium, delegating key tasks for the develop-
ment of the creation and development of methodology, strategies, and
modern pedagogical didactics.
2. Development of a modern model of teacher training based on a modular
principle that meets the objectives of achieving national goals, possibly